Joining the global call for justice

On
November 23, 2009, Esmael Mangudadatu decided to register his candidacy for
governor of Maguindanao, in the southern Philippines. Because his rivals from
the Ampuatan clan had pledged to block him from filing the papers, he
dispatched his female relatives, believing that they would not be harmed. He
also thought it would increase security to invite journalists along, and several
press cars joined the caravan.

An
hour into the drive, the caravan hit a road block. Armed men commandeered the
cars and drove the victims to a field where they had already dug graves with
giant backhoes. Fifty-seven people were slaughtered, including 32 journalists
and media workers, The only survivor was a reporter who had turned back early
because the battery on his cell phone had died.

The
Maguindanao massacre--as it has become known--is the most deadly press incident ever recorded by CPJ. Last year, November
23 was a bitter anniversary. This year, we will remember those killed, but we
are also hoping to use the day to inspire global action.

We
know the importance of speaking out. In 2007, CPJ launched its own Global Campaign against Impunity with support from the Knight Foundation. Our efforts have
focused on Russia and Philippines, two counties where journalists are
frequently murdered and the killers routinely go
free.
Because of pressure from domestic and international groups, governments in both
countries now acknowledge the gravity of the problem. In Russia, there has even
been halting progress, with a decline in violence against journalists and a
recent conviction in a reporter's killing.

In
the Philippines, the alleged perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre are on
trial, but justice has been exasperatingly slow. This is the time for people
all over the world to speak up and to remind the government in the Philippines that
we will hold them to account.

Since
1992, CPJ has documented the cases of 625 journalists who have been murdered
for their work. The majority of journalists killed are not battlefield
casualties--they are hunted down and targeted for murder. In nine out of 10
cases, their killers walk free.

CPJ
is proud to support the International Day to End Impunity. We can't allow the
killers to determine what we know. By demanding justice for our colleagues, we
are also standing up for the right of people everywhere to be informed.

Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He has written widely on media issues, contributing to Slate, Columbia Journalism Review, The New York Review of Books, World Policy Journal, Asahi Shimbun, and The Times of India. He has led numerous international missions to advance press freedom. His book, The New Censorship: Inside the Global Battle for Media Freedom, will be released November 11, 2014. Follow him on Twitter @Joelcpj. His public GPG encryption key can be found here.

Comments

Hi. I really welcome your call to Joining the global call for justice.

We need to be more vocal in reporting what's happening on our on backyard.

I have the strong feeling that CPJ has been doing a fine work on reporting crimes against journalists in far away continents.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing when it comes to continually report on what's been happening on our own Americas continent and places like Honduras were in last 2 years 17 journalists, thought to be against the 2009 coup,had been killed while others 36 wounded.

In the Dominican Republic the violent against the media escalated, after the sadly dead of 2 journalistic- both - killed shortly after write a report that link some rural public officials and the illegal drug trafficking.